because at the bottom of the fiscal cliff, our our -- are immediate and massive tax increases, deep and indiscriminate spending cuts and the risk of another recession. so as we come down on the final hours, we have two choices -- to do nothing and cause an unbelievable amount of hardship for our fellow americans or to do something to reduce the suffering inflicted on our citizens by an inflexible political system. mr. president, i choose to do something, so today i'm introducing the calm act which stands for the cliff alleviation at the last minute act. the calm act will do three important things. it will soften the financial blow of the fiscal cliff. it will calm our financial markets. it gives us the ctainty of a plan nowut allows us if we ever find the courage to pursue the fiscal grand bargain that has eluded us so far. make no mistake, the financial markets are watching us, and they're getting more nervous by the hour. we need to reassure them that we are capable of making big financial decisions. this bill, the calm act, is not something that i'm excited about or proud to offe